In a quick reaction from the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, to the news, he said that this matter would be a “flagrant provocation.”
“If the United States decides to supply tanks, justifying such a move with arguments about ‘defensive weapons’ will definitely not work,” Antonov added.
This would be another flagrant provocation against the Russian Federation, Antonov said in remarks posted on the embassy’s messaging app Telegram on Wednesday.
Two US officials told Reuters on Tuesday that the United States appeared to be preparing to start a process that would lead to sending dozens of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
This decision, if taken, will come only days after Washington expressed opposition to sending these tanks, despite Kyiv’s demands and public pressure from Berlin, which is facing calls to send German-made Leopard tanks.
The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said an announcement could be made this week.
They added that the Abrams tanks are likely to be purchased through a fund known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the administration of US President Joe Biden to obtain weapons from the defense industry rather than from existing US weapons stocks.
One of the officials indicated that the Biden administration could use the initiative to buy Abrams tanks from allies who own them, and then refurbish them and send them to Ukraine, according to Reuters.
This process can take months or even years.
US officials said earlier that the maintenance of the Abrams tank is difficult, that it is difficult to train the Ukrainians on it, and that it operates on jet fuel, which makes it a bad option for this stage of the war.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon declined to say whether Washington would supply Ukraine with the tanks, but reiterated the challenges posed by the Abrams model.
“The M1 Abrams is a complex weapon system that is difficult to maintain,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. “This was true yesterday, it is true today, and it will be true in the future.”
“We continue to have discussions with the Ukrainians and our allies and partners about Ukraine’s defense requirements in the medium and long term,” Ryder added.
The revelation of the US change of heart came on the same day that two sources said Germany would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to help counter the Russian invasion and allow other countries such as Poland to do the same.
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